There are one or more things that will convince you to make some serious changes in your personal life. These things motivated you to decide sincerely to make change in your life.

                Here are some things that get you to change:

I- GOD’S WORD IF OBEYED GET YOU TO CHANGE

Romans 6:16-18 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ¹⁷ But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. ¹⁸ Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

Because it is God who said and it is His will, you now change from serving sin to serving righteousness. The best way and the best reason why you change something in your life is the Word of God. There comes a time when you get to a point in your life that your realize you are not doing right things which you ought to do according to what the Bible tells you to live. This makes you to obey and change. God’s Word get you to change.

II- GOD’S CHASTISEMENT GET YOU TO CHANGE

Hebrews 12:4-11 “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. ⁵ And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: ⁶ For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. ⁷ If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? ⁸ But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. ⁹ Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? ¹⁰ For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. ¹¹ Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

You make changes because God chastens you. The passage in v.11 says that because of God chastening you bring peaceable fruit of righteousness in your life. Regarding chastening Elihu said, “I will not offend anymore…I will do no more.”—Job 34:31-32. As you realize, you learned and see that is is the Holy God who chastens you and correcting your disobedience. God’s chastisement get you to change.

III- GOD USES REBUKE TO GET YOU TO CHANGE

2 Samuel 12:1-14 “And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. ² The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: ³ But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. ⁴ And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. ⁵ And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: ⁶ And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. ⁷ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; ⁸ And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. ⁹ Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. ¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. ¹¹ Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. ¹² For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. ¹³ And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. ¹⁴ Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”

David commit sin with Bathsheba and have part why Uriah was killed.  David sinned against God and Nathan sternly rebuked David. David’s heart was convicted, thus repented and got changed—Psalm 51:1-7. Compared to the chastening of the Lord, a rebuke can be harder since it involves another person. God knows the best thing for us and the Lord uses rebuke in leading us to turn back to God. God uses rebuke to get you to change.

IV- GOD’S CONGREGATIONAL PUNISHMENT GET YOU TO CHANGE

1 Corinthians 5:1-7, 11 “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. ² And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. ³ For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, ⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁵ To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? ⁷ Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: ¹¹ But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”

As we can see in this passage as declared by the Apostle Paul that this fornicator must be and was punished by the congregation. In Paul second letter to the Corinthians, this man got right—2 Corinthians 2:6-11 “Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. ⁷ So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. ⁸ Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. ⁹ For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. ¹⁰ To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; ¹¹ Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

The said punishment was severe because they cut off their fellowship with this fornicator church member and turned him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh as the Apostle instructed them. We clearly see that this punishment is rougher than the chastening of the Lord and rougher than a rebuke of someone concern. The Lord will oblige to do it if punishment will help to get them right. God desires is for you to serve righteousness not sin. The congregational punishment get you to change.

V- GOD ALLOWS AFFLICTION TO GET YOU TO CHANGE

Luke 15:17 “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”

While he spent his life in the pig pen, the prodigal son suddenly “came to himself.” Indeed, he was hurt of what is now experiencing. As he realized he said he sinned against God and against his father. Because of that affliction he faced that brought him around. Affliction causes pain or suffering. Psalmist says in Psalm 119:67, 71, “before I was afflicted I went astray, but now…it is good for me that I have been afflicted.”

                There are two things you must acknowledge when you turn to God after being afflicted:

1. Acknowledge the Truth—2 Timothy 2:25 “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”

2. Acknowledge your sin.—Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”

Conclusion:  Obedience is what God wants for you. You need to make a change but when you are not obedient God will allow and use those things we mentioned to turn you to Him. Since God has said He prefers that you change. If we don’t change, God will do something to get you to make changes in your life.